Happy Saint Joseph's Day, 2018 -- March 19, 2018

www.listal.com

Happy Saint Joseph's Day to my fellow Joes.

Joseph Conrad (Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski) was born in Poland while much of the country was claimed by the Russian Empire. English may have been his fourth language (Polish, French, Russian, English).  His family had worked for Polish independence, so he had no future in Russia.  He joined the French merchant marine, and later the British.  I read somewhere that his shipmates called him "Polish Joe."  He began writing fiction in English and then had to give up the sea because of his health.

I read a lot of Conrad in college.  I took a summer class dedicated to him.  I got to operate the projector to show Lord Jim with Peter O'Toole.  It was my first experience with an anamorphic lens.

Conrad's books and stories show few signs that English was not his first language.  My final paper for the Conrad class was about a play he wrote, based on The Secret Agent.  I found traces of less-careful writing in the stage directions.

Happy Saint Joseph's Day #6 -- March 19, 2014

Happy Saint Joseph's Day to my fellow Joes.

Big Joe Turner from Kansas City was a great blues shouter.  He worked with boogie woogie piano player Pete Johnson and they composed and recorded "Roll 'Em Pete" in 1938.  This song is one of the candidates for the first rock'n'roll record. 
Here is one version on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnO-Wp4BZMg

Turner replaced Jimmy Rushing in Count Basie's band.  On his own he recorded "Shake, Rattle and Roll," which was a big hit with the newly growing rock'n'roll audience.  Bill Haley and His Comets covered it and made a lot more money. 
Here is a version on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9wTQsAgktg

Big Joe Turner went back to the blues for the rest of his career.  He is a member of the Blues Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

Protectors of One Another and of the Environment -- March 19, 2013

Pope Francis was installed today.  He spoke of we have a duty to "the whole of humanity, especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important, those whom Matthew lists in the final judgment on love: the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and those in prison."  He spoke about Saint Joseph as well.  We watched a repeat on EWTN.

I took this photo of the National Shrine of Saint Francis, formerly Saint Francis Church, on 20-August-2011. Saint Francis Church was San Francisco's first parish.

Ironically, it is also the tenth anniversary of the Iraq War.  

Happy Saint Joseph's Day #5 -- March 19, 2013

With his 200th birthday coming up on 10-October-2013, I thought it was appropriate to mention Giuseppe Verdi, the greatest operatic composer. 

Happy Saint Joseph's Day #4 -- March 19, 2012

Happy Saint Joseph's Day to my fellow Joes.

 Joe Louis, the Brown Bomber, was perhaps the greatest heavyweight champion.  I think he had a better range of opponents than Muhammad Ali.  Here he is just about done demolishing former champ Max Schmeling in two minutes and four seconds in their second fight on 22-June-1938.  Schmeling had won their first fight, Louis' only defeat up to that point.  Schmeling was never a Nazi, but once he had become heavyweight champion in 1930, the Nazis adopted him as a symbol of Aryan supremacy.  Joe Louis had other ideas about supremacy.  In later years, they became friends.

Happy Saint Joseph's Day #3 -- March 19, 2011

Happy Saint Joseph's Day to my fellow Joes.

March 17 was the 150th anniversary of Italian unification. Without the military and political leadership of Giuseppe Garibaldi, it might never have happened. My grandfather was a great admirer of Garibaldi and used to tell me about him. He was a Nizzardo Italian, from the area around Nice, which the Savoys gave to France. He was offered a generalship in the Union Army, but wanted over-all command of the army and demanded abolition of the slaves. It didn't work out.

Happy Saint Joseph's Day #2 -- March 19, 2010

Happy Saint Joseph's Day to my fellow Joes. Joe Venuti was a jazz violinist who was famous for his quirky sense of humor. He sent Wingy Manone, the one-armed trumpet player, a gift of one cufflink. Venuti played with Bix Beiderbecke and the Boswell Sisters, but was most famous for his work with guitarist Eddie Lang.

It was very warm today. I did not put my coat on coming home. That is rare.

I went to the blood bank at lunch time.

Happy Saint Joseph's Day -- March 19, 2009

Happy Saint Joseph's Day to my fellow Joes. Here is Joe DiMaggio in his San Francisco Seals uniform.

Seaview Theater Demolished -- March 19, 2008

I keep forgetting to mention this: As the DX took us home last Thursday, we noticed that the Seaview Theater was being torn down. I grabbed a shot through the bus window. This was the only movie theater in town.

Today is Saint Joseph's Day.